DIY: Lipstick or cream blush (using pigments)

8 Sep 2013

Hey Beauties!

When Essence came out with their pigments, I was too excited. I already had ideas of how I will turn my home made lip butters into great pigmented lipsticks. Unfortunately, I used too little pigments and now finally I have made it right. I wanted to share how I made these very simple home made lipsticks or cream blushes, using pigments.

For this you will need:

pigments (I used Essence pigments)

beeswax

oils (I used sweet almond oil)

butters (I used mango butter)

Vitamin E oil (optional )

heat source (I used a candle)

pot or spoon, in which you will melt everything together

old lipstick, lip balm tubes or any small container (I used plastic lip balm containers, which I bought on Ebay)

As far as ingredients goes. Pigments will give it color, beeswax will make it stick to the lips and solidify, oils will make it glide on (plus vitamin benefits) and butters will make it glide on as well and help it to solidify.

The measurements are:

the more pigments you add, the more pigmented and therefore drier it will be

the less pigments you add, the more sheerer it will be

the more beeswax you add, the more sold it will be, therefore hard - harder application

the more butters you add, the more silkier the application it will be, also greasier

the more oils you add the more sheer it will be - therefore not very long lasting

My measurements:

my ration is: 1/2 : 1 : 1 (I used half a teaspoon of beeswax, one teaspoon of oils and butters and one teaspoon of pigments)

to make one very pigmented lipstick I used: 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of beeswax, 3 teaspoons of oils and 3 teaspoons of pigments = this is a very pigmented, solid lipstick, which is long lasting, but also more drying on the lips

to make one sheerer lipstick I used: 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of beeswax, 3 teaspoons of oils, 1 teaspoon of butter and 3 teaspoons of pigments

to make very sheer small cream blush I used: 1/2 teaspoon of beeswax, 1 teaspoon of oils and 1 teaspoon of pigments

to make the product last at least a year you can add a few drops of Vitamin E oil, which is a natural preservative

Very pigmented lipstick

Sheerer lipstick

Very sheer cream blush

Be aware:

pigments differ between different bands. For some you may need to add a lot (like Essence) to get it really pigmented, for some you may need to add just a pea-sized amount

matte pigments will make the lipstick more opaque then pigments, which contain shimmer - those will make sheerer lipstick

butters differ - some are more buttery than others, so you will need to take that into account while making it

You can play around if you have any pigments lying around the house. I am sure you have oils in your home that you can use (like olive oil or coconut oil) and even some butters (cocoa butter or coconut butter).

How to make it:

I recommend melting the beeswax first, then butters, then oils and at the end, adding pigments.

You can melt it in a double boiler, or if you are making smaller quantities, just use a candle and hold a metal spoon on top of it

If you will pour it into lipstick containers, then I recommend stirring all the time, after you have melted it down. Hold it away from fire and when you see it getting a bit solid, then pour it into container.

So, these are my lipstick / cream blushes. Because you all know, lipstick can be used as blush, anyway. This is a 2-in-1 product for me. I even think those new cream blushes from Essence have the same texture as my home made sheer lipstick.

The lipsticks are very pigmented, therefor they may stain your lips and cheeks. I would recommend using natural oils or oil based cleansers to get them off the skin completely.

Other than that, those are pretty natural home made products (except for the pigments :) ) and the whole fun about it is, you can mix pigments together and make your costume shades.

I'm glad you find it helpful, I hope it will turn out as you wish;) No Elizabeth Arden cream was used purely as a top coat over the lipstick, to show that on top of those lipsticks you can still put lip gloss or in my case Elizabeth Arden cream to add shine or make it glossier. I used it on top of lipstick:)

Maybe the pigment has not spread evenly between the wax and oils. You can reheat it and mix it well and still mix it until it gets semi hardened and then pour it into the packaging. I would advise you also to add more oil, but very little, because it can be overdone very quickly. Just try to melt it a few times and add some more oils, until you get the desired texture. It should be a lot more creamier and not clumpy anymore. I hope it works out ;)

Ive noticed you don't add the mango butter to the very pigmented recipe. is there a reason why? i cannot seem to get my lipsticks that pigmented but i use a lipstick base from tkb. i am going to try your recipe but just wondering about the mango butter and when it should or shouldn't be added

The reason being, that this lipstick would be too buttery, which means less pigmented. I decided to not add butter, but you can add butter, but not oils. It just means that the proportion of butters and oils is less than beeswax, which is the one ingredient that hardens the most. You could add just beeswax and pigments, but the lipstick would be so hard, that you wouldn't be able to put it on your lips. That is why I also added some oils, so the application is a bit easier. I guess if you have a lipstick base and it seems too buttery or slippery to you, just add a bit more beeswax and it should be fine. How much, I can't tell you. But you can always melt the mixture again and correct it ;). I hope it works out and you get a lipstick as you'd like:).

Thank you for this DIY recipe ☺ I have all the ingredients needed except for the pigments. My local Shoppers Drug Mart carries the Essence brand cosmetics, but they didn't have the pigment powders 😕 (I drove to the nearest Shoppers store within 30 minutes of reading your recipe 😀). Where did you get your Essence pigments? I *really* want to make these lipsticks and blush! PS: Since I haven't been able to find the Essence pigments, (yet! But I'll keep looking & check some other stores), do you think I could use some small chunks of inexpensive lipstick? If I *can* do this, should I alter the amount of Shea/Cocoa/Mango butter, or still use the same amount as called for in your recipe? I'm assuming that if I use lipstick for a colour agent that my finished product might be more sheer-looking. Thanks again for posting this ... I'm also going to try your recipe for Body Butter tonight because I have all of the required ingredients on hand ☺. Oh ... one more question: can I add Peppermint Essential Oil to this lipstick recipe? (I'm also going to try adding some essential oils to the body butter recipe)

I bought those pigments a while ago, but they are not still in their regular range. You can order some mica pigments online - those are the most pure pigments for those kind of things. I also know that you can just add regular crayons (because they are non toxic - children can actually eat those) :).Maybe crayons would be a better choice, because I don't know what exactly is in certain brands of lipstick. Some ingredients may clash together, although in theory you could also try with old lipstick for sure. If you're gonna do this, you definitely need to alter the butters depending on how creamy your lipstick already is. I can't tell you the exact measurements, but I like to play on a little spoon. Just try adding the butters and wax little by little and you'll see when you'll get the desired consistency :). Yes, you're right, the lipstick would be much sheerer. You can definitely add essential oils. Just try to include essential oils into the other oils measurements - otherwise, again your lipstick might come out too sheer if you add butter, oils and then also essential oils. Well then I hope everything comes out as you wish. Do let me know. Have fun with DIY;)

Hi again,Thanks for your reply. I'm in Canada (Ontario) and I know if 2 online retailers who carry tons of DIY beauty supplies, such as mica powders. Blue Sapphire and New Directions both have oodles of products from essential oils, butters, colourants and various bottles/jars/tubes/containers (no I don't work for them or receive any kind of discount for promoting them :) I just really like them and can almost always find what I need -- and several things I didn't realize I needed, but really wanted lol) I will order some mica from them and make your lipstick recipe. By the way, I made your body butter recipe and I LOVE IT!!! I scented mine with an essential oil blend and it smells and feels amazing on my skin! Thanks, I love your blog & I've bookmarked your page because I know I'll be back again and again.:-) Happy DIY'ing! From, Lisa.

Wow, those web stores really do have, everything! I wish I could get that wide range of products in Europe and for those prices. You're lucky:) Well then I hope the lipsticks come out just as great. My body butter smelled not so nice - because the mango butter had pretty harsh smell, so I'm sure you're smells amazing:). Thanks for commenting and I hope we write again.Happy DIYing to you too;)Petra

Hi again Petra, Both of those suppliers will ship internationally, although newdirections.ca requires a wire transfer for payment, (you may feel differently but I personally didn't like that option). The other site, saffireblue.ca requires a 10.00 shipping and handling fee, but you don't have to pay via wire transfer. Can you see my email address? I know it doesn't show up for public viewing but if you, as the site owner, can see it please email me and perhaps we can make an arrangement for me to place the order for you and I could mail or Fed Ex it to you. Don't worry, I'm not a crazy psycho ...lol, but I bet all the crazy psycho's say that! :) As for your body butter recipe I did change it slightly, but only because I didn't have mango butter on hand. Instead I used 1/2 shea butter and 1/2 cocoa butter, and I used some essential oils as well. I will definitely make your recipe again - I've already ordered some mango butter :) I'm going to make an unscented version, following your recipe exactly, for a friend who can't wear scents because she gets headaches. Let me know privately if you want me to order anything for you from those Canadian sites ... I also know of another site who's warehouse is not too far from where I live. I can give you the website address, (I just can't remember it at the moment but I have it bookmarked).Have a great day, (or night ... I have no idea what the time change is between your area and mine) :)Lisa

Thanks, I'll definitely remember to ask you, when I decide to order something from those sites. Thanks for the offer;). You're a great friend to make this for her. It will be a nice Christmas gift as well:). Hehe, still day here so.. I suppose I wish you a great day as well;)